Discussion on the study of the Portuguese language in Florida / O ensino da língua portuguesa em debate

Vista do Sol em Daytona Beach. Os dias constantes de Sol fizeram com que o estado fosse apelidado de The Sunshine State.

This is an interesting article in Portuguese and about Portuguese in Florida, especially as I have a friend in the area that works in a company that apparently would like him to be functionally fluent in Spanish, and if possible in Portuguese as well. I didn't think Portuguese was also in that much demand in a place like Florida.

Here are some parts of the article (the rest you can read in Portuguese if you can or you can see it automatically translated here, but note that Google often translates a language's word for its own language as English so be careful which language they're referring to)

Por iniciativa do Centro Cultural Brasil-USA (CCBU), professores de língua portuguesa no sul da Flórida se reuniram para trocar informações sobre os programas em andamento na região e, mais importante, traçar metas para ampliar o alcance do ensino do idioma na América.

Through the initiative of the Cultural Center Brazil USA, teachers of the Portuguese language in the south of Florida have gathered to exchange information on programs underway in the region, and more importantly, to exchange methods to increase the scope of the learning of the language in America.

“Ensinar o português é importante para qualquer pessoa porque, cada vez mais, o idioma assume relevância no mundo globalizado. Mas privar os filhos de brasileiros que vivem nos Estados Unidos desta experiência é um crime cultural”, afirmou Adriana Sabino, presidente do CCBU, referindo-se ao fato de que muitos pequenos de nossa comunidade sequer conseguem se comunicar com os parentes do Brasil que não falam inglês.

"Teaching Portuguese is important for everyone, because the language is attaining more and more relevance in the globalized world. But depriving the children of Brazilians living in the United States this experience is a cultural crime", stressed Adriana Sabino, president of the CCBU, referring to the fact that many children in our community are not even able to communicate* with their parents in Brazil that don't speak English.

O encontro serviu para mostrar que, apesar das bem-sucedidas ações, ainda há muito a ser feito para expandir a educação multicultural na Flórida. “Mais do que as dificuldades no orçamento para implantação de novos programas, há carência de professores qualificados e habilitados para o ensino de português”, avalia Anete Arslanian, da Ada Merritt. Quando começou com as aulas bilingues, em 1996, ela tinha maioria de alunos brasileiros, mas hoje 90% dos estudantes são estrangeiros. “O interesse pela cultura brasileira é enorme”, atesta Beatriz Cariello, que leciona na Doral Middle School, onde há fila de espera para ingressar nesta eletiva.

The meeting served to show that in spite of successful actions, there is still much to be done to expand multicultural education in Florida. "More than the budget difficulties for the implementation of new programs, there is a shortage of qualified teachers and qualified people to teach Portuguese", said Anete Arslanian of Ada Merritt. When the bilingual classes started in 1996 there was a majority of Brazilian students, but today 90% of the students are foreigners. "The interest in Brazilian culture is enormous", attested Beatriz Cariello, who teaches in Doral Middle School, where these is a waiting list to join this elective.

And finally, FREE classes! Well, unless you're over 15:

Para atender ao grande público que não consegue se matricular nos programas nas escolas públicas, a Fundação Vamos Falar Português lançou classes de português gratuitas aos sábados, para crianças de 7 a 15 anos, na sede da instituição.

To respond to the larger public that cannot enroll in programs in public schools, the Let's Speak Portuguese Foundation began free Portuguese classes on Saturdays for children from 7 to 15 years of age at the institution.